


Demon Hunter

by Pat1313



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Angels, Betrayal, Demons, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Good and Evil, M/M, Monsters, Swordfighting, Swords & Sorcery, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 14:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18316934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pat1313/pseuds/Pat1313
Summary: A young man from a simple village has his life thrown into chaos when the conflict between good and evil spills over into his quaint life. Demons roam the land and he'll have to make a choice whether to stand and fight to protect the ones he loves or run and hide.





	Demon Hunter

The crisp Autumn air rippled through the trees, scattering leaves already upon the forest floor, threatening those still clinging desperately to their branches. Maxwell staggered along the undergrowth stumbling here and there as he collided with unseen roots. His shoulder aching from the wooden beam held slung across it, the full weight of a freshly killed doe pulling down on it. He glanced back at the young man on the other side of the beam, his brother, Raxon, stumbling with each step, sweat beading his face despite the brisk weather, his long blonde hair darkening with moisture.   
“Why don’t we stop for a minute Rax? My shoulder is killing me.” He called back to his brother, knowing Raxon would walk until he collapsed before requesting a break.   
A mature and stubborn lad with only twelve summers behind him   
He thought to himself with a grin as he watched him strain to lower his end slowly to the ground below and unsling the short bow from his opposite shoulder and set it across his lap as he collapsed on a fallen log.   
“What’re you smiling at?” Raxon asked as he joined his brother on the log, removing his own bow.  
He turned to him still grinning.   
“Because I’m proud of you lad, it’s an important day the first time you sink an arrow into your first kill.”  
Raxon looked down in shame muttering, “I didn’t kill it though, you did.”  
“Aye that’s true enough, but only because you made it easy for me, took its legs out from underneath the beast, all I did was finish it off.”  
“Yeah I guess I did!” Raxon said, lifting his head and giving his brother a smile full of teeth, the many freckles on his face stretching into thin lines.   
The words he’d spoken to his brother were true even if he wishes they were not so. Maxwell and his pa had decided to let Raxon take the lead on their hunt today, while pa remained working in the village. Raxon had swelled with pride when he’d been told, and when he’d succeeded it had been Maxwell’s turn to swell. However, when Rax took the first shot it had taken the doe in its flank, the poor animal had tumbled to the ground, rising only long enough to take a few steps before collapsing in a heap again. Maxwell had rushed forwards and knelt beside its head, seen the terror and pain in the animal’s eyes, the foam bubbling from its mouth as it lay thrashing on the ground no longer attempting to rise. He quickly raked his long hunting knife across the animal’s throat, feeling the warm blood pulse over his hands as it gave a violent twitch, he sat watching its movements become slower, its breathing decreasing, and the light slowly fading from its eyes taking the pain with it as its life blood leaked onto the grass, turning brown into crimson. While his family had been hunters all their lives Pa had always taught them to induce the least amount of pain possible to the animals.  
I should have taken the first shot, spared the animal some pain.   
Nothing to be done about it now he thought to himself as he rose to his feet, a heavy sigh escaping his lips.  
“Come on lad we’d better get back before nightfall or it’ll be our hides Pa will be skinning.”   
The sun was setting, burning the sky a bright orange by the time they managed to make their way into the heart of Tarasen. Max had always loved it here, a quiet simple town filled to bursting with good hard-working people along a sparkling blue lake. The pair made their way along the cobblestone path, the doe swaying like a morbid decoration between them. Maxwell heard the sound of feet slapping the cobblestones behind him, he glanced over his shoulder to see a tuft of red hair flash behind his brother immediately followed by a yelp.  
“Ollie! Cut it out” Raxon shouted, his voice higher pitched than normal.   
Max could see the young boy smiling as he stepped in front of Raxon and also gripped the wooden beam holding the doe, felt the weight lessen slightly on his shoulder.  
“A pretty good sized one, nice shooting Max!” Ollie shouted at his back.  
“Nope, not me I didn’t loose a single arrow today”  
“Wow! You shot this one Raxon?”  
“Well, yes I did,bu-” Raxon began   
Maxwell didn’t let him finish “His first kill, grab your folks for dinner Ollie and we’ll eat it together.” He didn’t catch the younger boy’s reply, at that moment a young woman had appeared in the road in front of them, black hair gleaming in the waning light. She walked towards them carrying a sack of something, a grin on her face as she met Max’s eye, he could feel one etching its way upon his face in return.   
“Come on by for dinner at our place tonight Cassandra.” He called over his shoulder as she got past them.  
“Of all the women in this village do you have to try and court my sister?” Ollie cried indignantly behind him.  
“Aye lad I do” he replied with a chuckle. Raxon breaking out in fits of laughter, Ollie’s protests lasted them until their hold came into view. 

Their mother was waiting on the porch, she came sprinting down the short set of steps of their modest home and flung her arms around Max, he could feel the beam slipping off his shoulder as she squeezed him. Without a word to their mother they marched to the side of the hold near a roaring fire pit, before tossing down the doe upon a wooden carving table. Maxwell ruffled his brother’s hair as he and Ollie ran off to go spar with sticks, waking Max’s pup Steel from his slumber beside the fire, chasing after the boys nipping at their heels. He watched them for a moment smiling before settling into a chair beside the blaze, he could feel his fingers tingling as the cold left them.   
It wasn’t long before his father settled into the chair beside him. His pa passed him a skin of mead and they sat there for a while, Max recounting the story of today’s hunt while his mother skinned the doe pulling meat apart for dinner. It didn’t take long before Ollie’s parents and sister were joining them around the fire, Cassandra dragging her chair closer than normal to Max, exchanging furtive smiles while Ollie stared darkly at the pair of them from the field earning him a sharp whack with the end of Raxon’s stick. Time passed quickly, perhaps it was the mead. Eventually both his and Ollie’s parents had wandered off to their respective beds, leaving Max and Cass to keep an eye on their siblings. The pair of them stretched out onto the earth, still cool despite the fire raging nearby. Before he knew it, Max was curled up with his head in Cassandra’s lap his eyelids getting heavier as her fingers gingerly raked through his unruly dark hair.


End file.
